FL Chapter 16

A while later, Kangwoo entered his room and found Heewoon sleeping face down on the bed.

“Are you getting sick?”

Kangwoo lightly clicked his tongue and approached the bed. Heewoon only made breathing sounds, not sensing his presence. Kangwoo wanted to put his hand on Heewoon’s shoulder, but instead, he bent down to sit on his knees. Kangwoo observed Heewoon’s sleeping face, his cheek resting against his arm draped over the bed.

The relaxed closed eyes, straight eyebrows, flushed cheeks, slightly parted lips.

“Hey.”

He gently tapped Heewoon’s soft cheek, but there was no response.

He stared at Heewoon’s face for some time, then glanced at his watch and shook him awake. Heewoon slowly blinked his eyes and got up.

Kangwoo took Heewoon’s hand and went downstairs to the kitchen. Still feeling groggy, he bumped his nose against Kangwoo’s shoulder a few times.

“Don’t you have eyes?”

Asking teasingly, Kangwoo turned around and took Heewoon’s face inside his hands, pulling his cheeks hard. Heewoon’s entire face was covered under his hands, his soft cheeks squished like dough.

Heewoon sat in front of the dining table and blankly lowered his gaze. In front of him, there was an immaculate chicken in the pot. So this was the herbal scent he had been smelling.

Kangwoo said it was good for his health and insisted that he must eat the whole chicken. Hearing this, Heewoon thought to himself. I’m going to vomit a whole chicken today.

Kangwoo looked at Heewoon, who was still staring at the dish, and said.

“Eat quickly. Don’t whine about being late again.”

“Okay.”

“Ah.”

With a mischievous smile, Kangwoo deliberately picked up ginseng and garlic and put them into Heewoon’s mouth. However, Heewoon ate it without even realizing it.

“Is it good?”

Kangwoo asked with snickers, Heewoon briefly mumbled ‘yeah’. Kangwoo glanced at his watch. It was already past 6:30.

The dark circles under Woo Heewoon’s eyes made him seem out of his senses. Though his eyes weren’t closed, the piece of meat he grabbed with his chopsticks dropped down, only touching his lower lip. Despite that, his mouth was still chewing as if something had entered.

Observing silently, Kangwoo suddenly stood up, making the chair creak.

At that, Heewoon finally snapped out of his daze. Seo Kangwoo must be coming to beat him up because he was eating improperly. He had been told several times before that he chewed food poorly.

“Now, I’ll eat properly!”

Heewoon firmly gripped the spoon in his hand. He might fly backward like this. For a moment, his mind became very clear. The fear he hadn’t felt while he was asleep suddenly rushed in all at once.

Heewoon followed Kangwoo’s movements with a pale, nauseated expression. However, contrary to Heewoon’s expectations, Kangwoo grabbed his arms, lifted him up, and pulled him into an embrace, sitting him down with Kangwoo’s arms around him. Heewoon, who abruptly found himself sitting between Kangwoo’s thighs, blinked foolishly.

“Don’t just have your eyes open, you need to be fully awake too.”

Kangwoo criticized as he snatched the chopsticks from Heewoon’s hand. He took a large piece of meat and pushed it into Heewoon’s mouth.

“Is the seasoning right?”

Heewoon had been eating without tasting the food so he hesitated to answer, and Kangwoo clicked his tongue. He tasted a bit of the soup and added some salt.

“You don’t taste the food either. It’s not worth feeding you something delicious.”

Kangwoo whispered, nuzzling the area between Heewoon’s ear and jawline. Heewoon, who had fully awakened, rolled his eyes and reached out for the chopsticks Kangwoo had taken away.

“It frustrates me to see you eating like that, Sunbae.”

“No, I really can eat properly.”

Avoiding Heewoon’s hand, Kangwoo warned as he said.

“Your hands. Put them between your thighs.”

When Kangwoo had this tone, there was no choice but to listen. Not that Heewoon didn’t listen when it wasn’t like that too.

Thighs… After briefly contemplating, Heewoon slipped his hands between Kangwoo’s thigh and his own thigh.

“…What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

Heewoon turned his head and looked at Kangwoo. Kang-woo, who had been frowning with disbelief, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Say ah.”

“Ah….”

Following the laughter-filled voice, glutinous rice and meat entered his slightly open mouth.

Heewoon obediently ate what Kangwoo gave him and glanced outside the room. He felt nervous about who might come in. It would be strange to see a grown man sitting between another man’s thighs and being fed.

After having sex a few times in the room, those people probably knew. He wondered what they thought of him and Seo Kangwoo. Having sex, having meals, and occasionally getting beaten up.

He also wondered how well those people knew Seo Kangwoo.

“Have you swallowed?”

Tilting his head, Kangwoo looked into Heewoon’s eyes and took more meat. Chew it thoroughly. Hearing the affectionate voice from behind, Heewoon thought this was much better than being beaten in any case.

After Heewoon finished eating half of it, the meal was over. When Heewoon said he was full, Kangwoo furrowed his brow and suddenly slipped his hand inside Heewoon’s T-shirt. Kangwoo gently touched Heewoon’s belly, which stiffened in surprise, and muttered.

“Is your stomach a little small? How are you full with just that?”

His large hand gently patted the plump belly and then withdrew from under the clothes. Heewoon glanced back for a moment and stood up. It’s 7 o’clock. If he says he’s leaving right away, will he be allowed to go? Probably not. After all, sex was the purpose from the beginning.

Then he would probably vomit again.

Watching Kangwoo’s back as he held his hand and led him up to the bedroom, Heewoon tightly bit his lip. He was really tired today.

However, instead of exploring Heewoon’s body, Seo Kangwoo simply hugged him tightly and lay down. When Heewoon looked at him in confusion, Kangwoo said.

“Take a short nap before you go home. Don’t doze off like a sick chicken.”

“But… the sex…?”

“Why? Are you disappointed? Do you want to?”

The firm arm around the back of his neck jerked as if he were trying to get up. Heewoon grabbed Kangwoo’s shoulder in fright.

“No!”

“…If you say no so strongly, my feelings get a little hurt.”

Heewoon stumbled with excuses, glancing briefly at Kangwoo’s expressionless face, saying it was because of his drowsiness. Kangwoo burst into laughter while staring at Heewoon intently.

“I was kidding. Hurry sleep. I’ll wake you up at eight.”

Heewoon stared intently at Kangwoo.

He had been afraid when he saw Kangwoo hitting Lee Hyukjin. He had been scared of the thought that he could be hit like that too. But now, he felt like he needed to change his perspective. Even in the car earlier. Seo Kangwoo was handling him very delicately.

Of course, the problem was that ‘delicate’ was based on Seo Kangwoo’s standards.

“I told you to sleep.”

A large hand gently covered his eyes. Startled, Heewoon blinked, and a soft voice spoke. Don’t just blink, close your eyes. Heewoon closed his eyes. The hand that had been hovering over his eyes for a while brushed through his hair and gently patted his back.

With the fluorescent light shining brightly, Heewoon tossed and turned, burying his face completely into Kangwoo’s chest. The hand that had momentarily stopped resumed patting his back. Heewoon quickly fell into a deep sleep. And faintly, he thought,

What if I actually fall asleep and he hits me?

Heewoon suddenly opened his eyes at some point. Dazzling from the light, he rubbed his eyes and felt his head being patted.

“There’s still 10 minutes left.”

When Heewoon lifted his head, Kangwoo had a gentle expression. Ten minutes. Mumbling, Heewoon lightly rubbed his cheek against Kangwoo’s shoulder. It was because he was still half asleep.

“Are you cold?”

“Yeah.”

Kangwoo tugged the blanket under their waists and pulled Heewoon’s body closer, eliminating any gaps. Heewoon blinked lazily. Looking down at his sleepy face, Kangwoo smiled softly.

“This, too, isn’t so bad.”

Heewoon pretended to respond to Kangwoo’s words to himself with a mumble. Kangwoo gently brushed aside the hair that clung to Heewoon’s forehead and stroked his head.

Ten minutes later, checking the clock, Heewoon was about to get up, but Kangwoo playfully pulled him back and hugged him tightly. Once again, Heewoon ended up lying back on the bed, and Kangwoo kissed the top of his head, whispering.

“I wish you wouldn’t go.”

“I don’t want to go either.”

Today, Heewoon felt unusually exhausted. That’s why those words slipped out. It was also because of the soft and cozy air around them.

“Really? Then don’t go.”

Kangwoo said nonchalantly.

“…But then, I’ll get fired.”

Heewoon’s voice was tinged with sadness. If even one more student quit, there would be a hole in the money that he needed to pay next month. He had to find at least one more student as soon as possible. First, he should focus on the midterms and then find another student. Maybe he should ask the kids about group tutoring, excluding those who would feel offended, like Jiyeon or Sunghyun…

Kangwoo, who had been staring intently at Heewoon, sat up from the bed. Heewoon followed him with his eyes as Kangwoo reached for the wallet on the desk and brought it over.

Kangwoo sat on the edge of the bed, and Heewoon also sat up.

“Here.”

Heewoon stared blankly at the card Kangwoo took out of his wallet. As he looked at it with a puzzled expression, Kangwoo grinned.

“Sunbae, you can buy a thousand yummies that you like with this.”

Yummies were probably referring to macarons. Seo Kangwoo was really the type who never used honorifics, so he was bad at it.

As Heewoon just stared at the card, Kangwoo gently opened Heewoon’s hand and placed the card on top of it.

“…You want me, to use this?”

At Heewoon’s question, Kangwoo nodded his head. Heewoon alternated his gaze between the card and Kangwoo, then cautiously spoke up.

“Uh… I appreciate it, but I won’t be able to afford to pay you back”

“Who said you have to pay me back?”

Heewoon stared at Kangwoo’s nonchalant expression. He tried to figure out if he was teasing him or had something else up his sleeve, but he couldn’t read anything in his face.

“…Why?”

“Just. I’m getting a bit annoyed. So, quit your job right now.”

Kangwoo lightly patted Heewoon’s cheek with his thumb. Although his complexion had improved a bit after getting some sleep, Heewoon still looked at Kangwoo with a puzzled expression.

Nothing is free in this world. If he were to use Kangwoo’s money, he would become even more deeply involved than he already was.

So, Heewoon shook his head.

“You don’t want it?”

The handsome eyebrows furrowed.

A little intimidated, Heewoon replied with a hesitant ‘Yeah’ and stood up. It seemed better to distance himself a bit from Seo Kangwoo.

“Why? Is it because it hurts your pride?”

“No.”

There was no such thing as pride left.

Kangwoo’s mouth twitched as he watched Heewoon pick up his bag from the floor.

“Earlier, it wasn’t a request. I was telling you to do just that. Quit everything by the end of this week.”

Do you understand?

Their gazes locked, and Heewoon fidgeted the bag in his hands.

Money is truly a frightening thing. No matter how much money Seo Kangwoo had, there’s no guarantee that he wouldn’t demand it back later. Heewoon had witnessed how people involved with money could become cruel and despicable.

It was the same reason why he didn’t ask anything to Seo Kangwoo. He was quietly waiting until Kangwoo lost interest so he could untangle himself. When that time came, he would disappear without a trace.

It wouldn’t take long.

Thinking that over and over again, Heewoon opened his mouth.

“I don’t want that.”

And he promptly fled the bedroom.

His heart pounded like crazy in fear of being chased. Heewoon didn’t know if it was because Seo Kangwoo was extremely gentle today, leading to this turn of events.

Only after leaving the house did he realize that he was still tightly clutching Kangwoo’s card in his hand. Heewoon chuckled in disbelief as he looked at the card.

At that moment, his phone vibrated.

[Acting up like that, do you not think of tomorrow?]

His heart sank at the message.

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